Across the four days of the third Ashes Test, Ben Stokes endured physical pain and crippling pressure without taking a backwards step, but the stress of watching his side’s torturous run chase proved too much even for him. England eventually beat Australia by three wickets to keep the series alive, though their captain entirely missed seeing Chris Woakes score the winning runs while he engaged in furious stress-marching around the dressing room.
“I’m not going to lie, I was a bit nervous at the end,” Stokes said. “I walked about two kilometres around the Headingley dressing room in the last half-hour. I didn’t actually watch the last 20 runs being scored. It’s completely different when you can’t do anything, you can’t influence the game any more, and you’re left watching and hoping things are going to go your way.”
